Snapchat adds a 2017 year in review feature for saved memories

5 months ago

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Snapchat users who snap and save can take a stroll down memory lane with the app’s new feature, “A Look Back at 2017.” If you’re the type that would rather ruminate than remain committed to Snapchat’s previously purely ephemeral philosophy, you can find your 2017 year in review in the memories tab.

The feature is noteworthy mostly for the fact that it rips a sheet out of Facebook’s playbook — a role reversal for a company that watched its biggest competitor clone its killer innovation to wild success. Naturally, as is the course of tech’s great derivation cycle, Facebook borrowed its “on this day” nostalgia bait ideas from Timehop.

Snapchat clearly knows it has an Instagram Stories problem and is open to new ways to get users interested. Just yesterday, a report on Cheddar suggested that the company might be introducing a feature called “Stories Everywhere” that would take Snapchat content beyond Snapchat, a smart move for a company losing users to Instagram’s unrivaled Facebook-powered social graph.

If you don’t see the look back at 2017 waiting for you in Snapchat’s memories tab, you probably just didn’t generate enough content because you were busy over on Instagram. If you’re truly upset, as some Twitter users appear to be, it’s probably time to make a New Year’s resolution to your Snapchat #engagement levels in 2018.